this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
36 points (97.4% liked)

No Stupid Questions

4314 readers
106 users here now

There is no such thing as a Stupid Question!

Don't be embarrassed of your curiosity; everyone has questions that they may feel uncomfortable asking certain people, so this place gives you a nice area not to be judged about asking it. Everyone here is willing to help.


Reminder that the rules for lemmy.ca still apply!


Thanks for reading all of this, even if you didn't read all of this, and your eye started somewhere else, have a watermelon slice πŸ‰.


founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Lets assume that genies grant wishes literally, but will twist your words. How do you wish without unintended consequences? Typical rules of no more wishes, no resurrection, no forced love, no altering the past, can't defy logic, can't break physical laws, can't create paradoxes, and can't affect higher powers (this is one tough genie!).

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The reality is the genie gave you your 3 beer wishes and appreciated the simplicity of the ask so told the bartender to bill genie for the rest of your beers tonight and a cab home. No monkeys paw for those wishes.

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

[Update] The genie just gave me my 38th beer. He’s on his 12th now and just tried crack for the first time

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

oh sure like I would tell you. im hoarding all my genie wish knowledge.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm using my first damn wish to make you spill the beans on your genie wish strategies!!!

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

ok first wish is for two wishes that I will be happy with the outcome of them both long and short term from my current perspective just before any wish activity goes on and uneffected by retro effects from the wishes and given the knowledge of how exactly those wishes will play out when I make them both short and long term.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Technically you can't wish for more wishes but even so attempting to give you near omnipotent knowledge that would be required to understand how all wish activity would most likely drive you insane or kill you in a mortal body. as to whether that would make you happy may be a perspective thing when the chance is a lot of pain from going crazy or dropping dead vs the torture of having to sift through that knowledge to use it taking more time then you have to live.

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

When Fox Mulder encountered a genie like that, his wish was delivered in written form. It was a binder with probably more than 1000 pages. Basically, he wished for world peace, but he had to lawyer his way out of all the usual genie BS. If the genie is playing dirty, you have to design the wish like you would design a law.

Bonus showerthougt: The law is a book series specifically written for assholes.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The genie is wondering how you managed to get all that done before spontaneously finding him. He claims you must also be a genie and per genie law owes you no wishes!

[–] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Nah, I would just put the genie on hold for 7 months while I’m cooking the wish with a team of lawyers.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I was just discussing that episode when my son asked me if I pushed a button that killed all assholes on the planet would I push it. I didn't even hesitate in saying yes. He then asked even if it killed me too, and I still said yes.

This led to whole discussion around this whole concept and the monkey paw theory and I also brought up the episode as well. The ending was the only correct choice to make.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] stepintomydojo@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I wish for a contract lawyer with genie experience who can write my other two wishes in a way that can't be twisted. (But with more words needed to get that first wish right!)

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Chris and Jack did a skit like this. The first wish was to have the genie audit "what if I wish" speculations to tell how they might interpret the wish. A great video.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] phonics@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Genie experience. Sure he works for the genie. Who 'can' do want you want. But doesn't have to. 'Can' gives your lawyer an out.

[–] theedqueen@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

That’s what Timmy turner did

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago (5 children)

What if the genie lawyer isn't licensed(not to many licensed lawyers with genie experience I imagine!) or is in league with the genie! Honestly the genie may be less tricky than that lawyer!

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

The genie itself likely has legal experience. He’s just allowed the genie to select the next two wishes.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] superduperpirate@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)
  • I win $50M USD after tax in the lotto, in a way that lets me claim it anonymously and live inconspicuously. I’ll keep my job & benefits package, though.
  • I have notably better physical & mental health now through the natural end of my life.
  • I have notably better emotional intelligence now through the natural end of my life.
[–] phonics@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Too bad you'll die tomorrow

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Genie grants all three wishes but makes you very small and invisible to fullfill the second part of wish 1. good thing you asked for better emotional and mental health, you'll need it :)

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Ties in nicely with phonics’ result… an invisible person is hard to avoid colliding with.

[–] Novamdomum@fedia.io 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I would use my first wish to secure the outcome of the other two. Something like "Dear Genie, I wish for my next two wishes to be granted in a way that respects the intent I have for those wishes". Then I would wish for everyone to have empathy and humility so that we can start all pulling together as a species instead of apart. For my last one I would wish that any limb that is used to hurt a child rots away and falls off. That's just a personal one for me because I've never understood adults hurting children deliberately.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The genie does indeed respect the intent but is pretty heavily incentivized to screw it up, the genie, drives us all insane by making us all live each others shared experiences so we can all be truly empathetic. he also coincidentally got all the bad guys/gals.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] ianhclark510@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Now that the genie is free he is no longer constrained by all genie laws and enslaves us all for eternity! Great job now my weekend plans are completely ruined! /s

[–] the_q@piefed.social 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I would give my wishes you the genie.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

You trust the genie too much!

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

First wish: the genie will be my eternal friend.

Second wish: free the genie from the geas β€” make the genie its own master.

There is no third wish.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

First wish genie is an eternal friend but more like distant friend that would talk to you as a friend or give you a hand with moving but no more. then same as https://lemmy.ca/post/69470791/24857447 but maybe you get slightly nicer conditions?

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

The first is because of the Arabian Nights story where the guy frees the genie and the first thing it does is kill the wisher. There’s another where the first thing it does is puts the wisher in the bottle it was trapped in.

So β€œdistant friend” is enough.

[–] Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'd wish for the ability to teleport anywhere I have already been. (I figure with quantum entanglement, the genie could grant this, our scientific knowledge isn't there yet.) I'd wish that at the end of each day my checking account fill back up to a balance of $5000. I'd wish for a refrigerator that appeared whatever food I wanted to eat.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The Genie grants part 1 but puts the cost of doing so on you as if you had to walk all the way there yourself(and doesn't tell you this). On wish 2 it grants this for you and every other person but also adds a $5000 fee for doing so(be thankful the genie didn't make it a greater fee!!), and for the last wish it will appear but if you try to eat it it disappears. :)

[–] UPGRAYEDD@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I get to teleport and loose weight at the same time. Double wish.

[–] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I wish for the genie to, as far as their power allows, to minimize all suffering across all beings that can suffer across all time, and keeping that at a minimum, to maximize pleasure across all beings that can feel pleasure across all time

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

The magnitude of this wish is beyond what the genie can pull off, best genie can do is free health/spa coupons. The genie sees what you were trying to do though and won't monkey's paw this one

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

My first wish is that my wishes are not corrupted, and they are fulfilled to the intent in my heart and mind without any trickery of bullshit.

My second wish is to have the ability to draw extremely well.

My third wish is that I can bring my drawings to life.

The last two powers will enable me to have infinite wishes by simply drawing things like immortality pills, scifi technology, and just straight up money if I wanted.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] beliquititious@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I wish that I would feel content with my life regardless of the circumstances I may find myself in.

I wish that the world is fair and just.

I wish that I had all the knowledge humans have ever known and could access that information easily and quickly without external assistance.

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

Genie explains that due to the laws of physics the rules covering not changing the past and general human psychology everything being fair and just is impossible due to scarcity and previous injustices, tones down your overall intelligence level enough to make you generally lack the sense of loss or wanting to make you generally content, then puts you in a room with access to a terminal that could give you info but you're generally too content to do anything/interact with it. The genie appreciates what you were trying to do though so it makes sure you still live an otherwise normal life.

  1. Excluding myself, everyone's knowledge of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west is inverted, as are any references, depictions, or allusions to the direction in which the sun rises, while the cardinal directions and the orientation and rotation of the Earth relative to the Sun remain unchanged, such that everyone other than myself expects the Sun to rise in the west and set in the east, while it will continue to rise in the east and set in the west as it does now.
[–] sprack@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I wish karma was real and had immediate repercussions.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 month ago (8 children)

Replace the blood of every person that's SA'd someone with molten sodium chloride.

Drop a 6 foot by 2 inch tungsten rod from orbit onto anyone that's committed a warcrime, nailing them to the floor where they will be left as an example for everyone else.

Publically release complete documentation showing every country's actions that have been directly antagonistic to their own people (I'm talking EVERYTHING. Not just 'the files' but every action where a country has demonstrably done something that serves only the interests of the few at the cost of the people.)

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The Genie thinks you haven't really thought this through, replacing blood with molten salt isn't physically possible and asking for mini rods from god to be launched from orbit at earth leaves it open to the genie how many and how much force to use. the Genie thinks you either don't respect the monkeys paw his powers or maybe that you want us all dead anyway :(

[–] NihilsineNefas@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean, replacing blood with molten salt is entirely possible, it'll merely boil off most things it comes into contact with, which was the intent.

The genie is more than welcome to pick how many and at what velocity they hit their targets

I fully respect the genie's powers, and that they'd monkey's paw it, I was leaving that part up to them, and being VERY literal with my wishes to make sure the end result was at least in the same ballpark of the wish.

Wasn't that the point of the post? Get the best result out of a genie that's got hard limits on their wish giving powers?

[–] WizardGed@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The genie has a hard time calling it "replacing" blood with molten salt with blood making up so much of the human body and what is left destroying itself almost instantly when exposed to molten salt that all you'd really get is a molten salt shaped human and some bones in a pile after. genies also pretty sure the moment he poofs away the blood there already dead so this is just an over complicated way of throwing someone into a molten pit of salt. Your going to have to trust the genie on this one.

The quantity and speed govern energy, remember the genie was just confronted with the worst of humanity what if the genie decides all of humanity needs a reset with lots from everywhere destroying us all?

This is why the genie was worried, asking a genie for revenge or destruction almost always goes terribly wrong if only on principle of the genie not bring a hitman and is looking for equal ways to turn it against the wisher.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments
view more: next β€Ί